The Name Was Bai Tang

He had only thirty-odd Spirit Stones left in his purse, nowhere near enough to pay, but he still had twenty-one Dao Merit, worth two hundred and ten Spirit Stones. That was more than enough to pay Fang Xu.

"Absolutely. Dao Merit is far more precious than Spirit Stones. Have you thought this through, Junior Brother Jiang?"

No one ever complained about having too much Dao Merit. Fang Xu replied with a smile.

"It's fine. You've looked after me, Senior Brother. How could I quibble over such a small benefit?"

Jiang Yang smiled just as readily. Today's abundant gains had set his spirits soaring.

"Then we'll do as you say, Junior Brother."

Fang Xu took out the waist token that marked his status as a disciple and held it up.

Jiang Yang understood at once and took out his own token. He swept two fingers together, a flash of spiritual light appeared, and he transferred the Dao Merit over.

Fang Xu stirred his spirit sense while holding the token, then looked up in surprise.

"This isn't right. Why did you transfer twenty Dao Merit, Junior Brother? Didn't we agree on a hundred and fifty Spirit Stones? That should only be fifteen Dao Merit."

Only then did Jiang Yang raise the Jade Slip he had been holding all along.

"As it happens, I'm interested in this incantation. Let the remainder pay for this Spells."

Although Fang Xu had said beforehand that he could choose and read whatever he liked, Jiang Yang really could not bring himself to take it for nothing, so he had added five Dao Merit to make a round total.

Fifty Spirit Stones was not much, really. It probably would not even buy a proper Spells, but this was already all Jiang Yang could manage. Any more, and he would have to make up the difference with Spirit Stones.

"Ah... Junior Brother Jiang, you're treating me like a stranger."

Fang Xu wanted to refuse, but when he saw Jiang Yang's earnest gaze, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

He was not one to fuss, either. A few dozen Spirit Stones were not worth pushing back and forth over, so he accepted without saying any more.

Seeing this, Jiang Yang smiled. He took a Jade Slip from his Storage Bag, erased all the writing inside, and copied the Seasonal Renewal Spirit-Nurturing Incantation onto it.

Jade Slips were not particularly precious, but he had no new ones on hand. The slip he was using had originally contained miscellaneous notes. Having already read and committed them to memory, Jiang Yang erased them without concern.

With everything settled, Jiang Yang did not leave immediately. He chatted with Fang Xu for a while before bidding him farewell.

Fang Xu did not try to keep him, merely saying that he would invite Jiang Yang again the next time he found somewhere good to go.

With this good beginning, the two had now formally become acquainted. This time, Jiang Yang did not refuse outright, instead leaving room for a future answer.

After leaving Fang Xu's Lone Chant Residence, Jiang Yang headed down the mountain.

He had been holding himself back inside Fang Xu's thatched cottage. Now, carrying the sword, he was itching to try it. Had he not been on a mountain path, he would have wanted to give it a few swings.

It was not merely that the sword suited his hand. Jiang Yang had a natural fondness for swords—and who would not like a sword?

After returning to his cave abode, Jiang Yang set the sword on his desk and, without pausing, took out the Cave-Origin One-Qi Sword Art to review it.

Before, with no sword in hand, he had restrained himself from reading it. Now, naturally, he could hardly wait to study it.

This was a third-grade sword art, one that had truly crossed the threshold into mastery. In the outside world, it would already count as a secret teaching that people would fight tooth and nail to obtain.

Its opening outline read: fathom the origin and condense one qi; let that qi pierce the long rainbow! Then unite the body with the sword and let the heart follow intent. Only then could qi merge with the void and the sword cleave the heavens.

Jiang Yang read it through carefully, gaining a broad understanding of the sword art in his hands.

Its sword movements favored lightness and agility, courting danger in a crisis and fighting for the narrowest opening against an enemy. Its guiding principle was to strike without regret.

Beyond the basic thrust, chop, point, and hanging parry, the complete sword art included several sets of sword moves. Jiang Yang concentrated, committing them to memory as he read.

"White Rainbow Pierces the Sun," "One Qi Faces the Sun," "Sun and Radiance Shine Together"...

They look so ethereal and immortal-like, but why do they all feel like trading wounds for lives? Every move goes straight for someone's vitals...

The more Jiang Yang read, the more alarmed he became. His first impression of the sword art changed completely. This was plainly an assassin's sword style. There was not a single defensive move in it.

The sword art's guiding intent was not especially grand or upright. Instead, it favored courting danger to seize the lead, meeting speed with speed and attack with attack to claim the initiative. Examined closely, it was actually a sword style for staking one's life.

No, that's not right...

After reading the entire text, Jiang Yang spent a while digesting it. He was no fool. If all sword arts were like this, the grass on Sword Cultivators' graves would already be three feet tall.

He had overlooked one thing just now: Sword Qi!

The path of the Sword Cultivator was notably free and unfettered. Anyone could practice it, regardless of their tradition, but it also had its own divisions of rank.

These were Sword Qi, sword ray, sword essence, and sword intent!

In ancient terms, someone who mastered sword intent was an immortal among swords. Yet in the present age, those who attained Sword Immortal status were already few and far between.

For an ordinary cultivator, being able to unleash a few streaks of Sword Qi already counted as a modest accomplishment. Relying on its offensive edge, they could look down upon their peers within the Qi Refining realm.

The fundamental reason was that once Sword Qi empowered a sword art, its might became as different from before as heaven was from earth.

If Jiang Yang mastered Sword Qi before wielding this Cave-Origin One-Qi Sword Art, it truly would become an ethereal, immortal-like sword style. Sword Qi would sweep freely through battle, every move driving the enemy toward death. Naturally, that would look effortless and elegant.

Without Sword Qi, however, this sword art immediately became an assassin's blade that courted danger in a crisis. Every move required closing in on the enemy's body to be effective. Was that not precisely a sword style that traded wounds for lives?

Once he understood, Jiang Yang put away the Jade Slip. Reading a book a hundred times was no match for standing up and swinging a sword once.

He picked up the sword from the desk. Its weight of over seventy jin was not particularly heavy for Jiang Yang.

Jiang Yang gave it two practice swings. The long, slender blade hummed as it cut through the air, raising a gust that sent the papers on his desk fluttering.

He hurried out of his cave abode and came to the clearing where he usually practiced his movement techniques.

Walking to the center, he closed his eyes and focused. After regulating his breathing for a moment, he let the sword art's true meaning flow through his heart.

Suddenly, Jiang Yang's brows lifted and his eyes shone. Raising the sword, he thrust forward. Magical power surged from his qi sea into the meridians of his hand, then flowed into the blade.

Though this sword was a degraded Artifact Embryo that had lost all its wondrous abilities, as a spirit material, it still retained the basic property of accepting magical power.

Clear light flooded the blade. In an instant, radiance streamed out more than three inches beyond it.

The fallen leaves and pine needles piled ahead seemed to have been swept by something invisible. Every one of them was cut in two.

Jiang Yang approached to inspect them. Two neatly arranged piles of fallen leaves lay on the ground, and excitement surged through him.

He had not expected to execute the sword art so easily on his very first attempt.

Jiang Yang reined in his emotions, brought two fingers together against the sword, and decided to strike while the iron was hot. Following the basic sword moves, he began wielding it across the clearing.

Once he started, the withered grass and fallen leaves piled before his cave abode suffered the consequences. Streaks of clear light flashed, and beneath horizontal slashes and vertical chops, pine and cypress needles mingled with grass stems as they whirled through the air.

Only after quite a while did Jiang Yang stop, leaning on his sword and panting. On this first attempt at sword practice, he could not yet properly control his expenditure of magical power. He had no choice but to stop and regulate his breathing, calming his seething power.

Still, none of that could dampen his excitement. Though the sword art's lethality was not yet apparent, and its radiance fell far short of even a ten-thousandth of Spells, who could understand the joy of mowing down grass like this?

Could this be Sword Qi? I... I really am a genius!

Looking at the fallen leaves scattered over the ground and recalling the light on the blade, Jiang Yang felt immensely pleased with himself and murmured inwardly.

"Pfft!"

A sudden snicker rang out. Jiang Yang instantly grew alert, hurriedly holding his sword across his body as he demanded:

"Who's there?"

His surroundings were silent, as though that laughter had merely been an illusion.

But Jiang Yang was already a Qi Refining cultivator, with all six senses sharpened. For him, there was scarcely any such thing as an illusion.

When no one answered, Jiang Yang still did not relax. He spread his spirit sense around himself and spoke again.

"May I ask which senior is here? Please show yourself!"

Anyone who could escape his detection must have a cultivation realm higher than his. Fortunately, he was within the Sect. Though startled, Jiang Yang did not panic, reasoning that some passing senior was likely teasing a junior like him.

Silence lay all around. Just as Jiang Yang began to suspect shadows everywhere, the voice sounded again.

"My name is Bai Tang."